Month: March 2017

If we see leadership as the world does, we missed the mark of Christ. If we focus on titles, positions of prestige and power or sequence of functions that focus on result and not the man. If we remove nepotism, favouritism and materialism, we need spiritual focus. Leadership is Jesus life exemplified His utility influence others! If we are focusing on someone presently in world or church leadership positions (Trump?) that pushes more than they inspires and lead.

God through Paul leaves us with the kind of qualities necessary for leadership in the church, if not in our workplaces or communities, then certainly in our homes as parents. If we as leaders will be open with our experiences, we will admit that there are times when we do not demonstrate the qualities of a Godly leadership Christ exemplified. Surely, there are a great many books out there, but here are a few I think are a good start.

A good leader seeks God’s direction. Is there anything more important in a leader than he or she seeking God’s direction? Proverbs 16:1 says, “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” Verse 3 adds, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” In addition, verse 9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” A good leader seeks the Lord, commits his way to the Lord, and the Lord establishes the next steps.

A good leader is modest, not arrogant. We have all encountered the know-it-all leader, the “submit-or-else” type of leader. However, Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” I do not know about you, but I definitely do not want to be referred to as an abomination to the Lord. That is some scary stuff.

A good leader is a peacemaker. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Yet so many leaders are not interested in examining an opposing viewpoint or other ideas. We have lost the ability to empathize with others, and compromise has become a bad word. There is something to be said of sticking to principles. I believe God calls us to be steadfast. However, He does not call us to be jerks. In addition, when our “boldness” is interpreted as “coldness,” we are not doing it right.

A good leader is fair and just. “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice” (Proverbs 16:8). I believe in goals and working hard to achieve them. However, the end always justifying the means is simply not true. A good leader is more interested in doing things the right way.

A good leader surrounds himself or herself with honest, trustworthy counsellors … and then listens to them. “Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right” (Proverbs 16:13). Do you know leaders who surround themselves with “yes” people? Personal insecurity drives them to seek only positive reinforcement for every decision they make. A smart leader surrounds himself or herself with smarter people, who are willing to speak their minds and offer sound counsel. After all, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).

A good leader is a good learner. Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” A good leader should always be learning, growing and improving. The day you feel there is nothing left to learn is the day that pride and arrogance have taken root. In addition, we have already discussed how the Lord feels about arrogance.

A good leader is humble. We have seen countless prominent examples of Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” From politicians and celebrities to CEOs and pastors, many have grabbed headlines as their empires have fallen. In most of these cases, it is pride that has crept in. They thought themselves invincible, but quickly found out that no one is. “It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19).

A good leader is sensible and kind. “Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips” (Proverbs 16:22-23). Being smart and sensible makes a good leader more persuasive and effective. A good leader uses “gracious words” (verse 24), not speech that is “like a scorching fire” (verse 27).

A good leader is slow to anger. We have all seen the caricatures in movies and television of the angry boss; the person, who yells for no reason, barks orders, berates, and demoralises the staff. Perhaps you have even worked for such a person. The Bible says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

Like this:

Saudi Arabia the most prominent promoters of the Wahhabi version of Islam, money and influence is propagating the west Western leaders because of the need to fuel their economic juggernaut has turned a blind eye of Saudi Arabia’s influence in its cities, universities, colleges, prisons and other public institutions. More than 95% of Imams station in these public institutions are from the Wahhabi sect and funded with Saudi Arabia’s money. Yet the amount of Sunni and Shia Muslims greatly outnumbered the Wahhabis in Britain. The same money that trained these Islamic representatives to infiltrate these bodies so they may influence western students and government has one aim that is to put a soft gloss over the name Islam and make it more acceptable. Once it becomes an everyday expression in the news, regardless of its method and means the end result is what matters.

Sunni Islam’s most prominent preacher, Yusuf al Qaradawi, declared that the day would come when, like Constantinople, Rome will be Islamized. It is clear that the men and women, Islamic covert representatives trained in Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been working overtime to affect the cause of Islam in western states. As it is Islam, not Christianity, that now saturates Europe and other western states, landscape and imagination. Last year in North America alone more than 2000 Mosque were built with Saudi Arabia money, the figure doubled in Britain and other western democracies.

Why is Saudi Arabia so keen in saturating the west with Mosque and Islamic centres? It is almost as if the west is stuck in a time warp, watching the Islamization of its continent and is powerless to stop it from happening. Islam is out of bounds when it comes to poking fun. People are so scared of Islam that not even satirist and comedians usual poking of fun and a joke at Judaism and Christianity has a no touch policy when it comes to Islam.

Clearly, the Jihadists likewise have an agenda, and seemingly leading an assault against freedom and against secular democracies. They want to divide and concur. US President Trump’s strategic advisor Steve Bannon recently observed that the “Judeo-Christian West is collapsing, it is imploding. And it’s imploding on our watch, and the blowback of that is going to be tremendous.’ Many see Bannon a conspirator and supporter of the far rights agenda with extreme views but is he on to something here? The impotence and the fragility of our civilization are haunting many Europeans as well. The west has not yet catch on that the greatest of battles is being fought in Islam itself. Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi and Iran Shia are great enemies and rivals as to the brand of Islam they promote in the world. The west is caught in the middle of that battle and know not which way to go, whether the side of Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Dictatorship and one man rule is the modus operandi in Islamic States, and the Ayatollah and the Saudi King want to be that Islamic strong man that rules the world, not just Islam. The Turkish president is knocking hard on that door of Islamic strongman, by increasing his presidential powers. You will find that very few Islamic states if any have any semblance of what the west treasure as freedom and democracies.

Many run to the west for freedom because of persecution at home, inability to vote or speak freely yet they want to restrict what you can say about their religion. It is the fear of this violence, torture and death, wielded by extremist Muslims, that keeps every person desperate to obey.

If the liberals are in favour of freedom of speech, why do they then turn a blind eye to Islamist governments such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which execute people for expressing their opinion? Why do they not allow people in the West express their opinion without attacking them as we see in France and Germany? On the other hand, even giving people the respect of hearing what they have to say and the freedom to choose what they want? Many seem, in fact, like the autocratic people from whom they are fleeing, who also did not want their simplistic, binary way of thinking to be threatened by logic or fact.

In Islam, no one is allowed to attack except to defend the prophet Mohammad or the Islamic religion. Extremist Muslims need to keep finding or creating supposed attacks to make themselves to appear as victims. They will find excuses such as western foreign policies or Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as a vehicle and justification for their extremist and violent actions. My dear ‘Liberal’ in the west, if you truly stand for values such as peace, social justice, liberty and freedoms, your apologetic view of radical Islam is in total contradiction with all of those values. Your view even hinders the efforts of many Muslims to make a peaceful reformation in Islam precisely to advance those values. So that you Mr and Mrs liberal is a part of the problem not the solution!

Western government be on the alert of the Jihadist agenda! The freedom and democracies we all holds dear is under threat by a violent extremist plan, to divide concur and rule the west with an Islamic strongman. Christians, be on the alert, the freedom you hold but take for granted may soon be no more. For if the extremist wins, Christianity will be no more! Watch and pray that God will protect you through the ever increasing Islamist assault on western values. The true aim of Islam? To silence Christ and His followers… Christians!

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What if I advocate that many of us remain captive to the past to our restrictive self-existence, rather than living the new life Christ offers. This remains so, though, we claim and proclaim liberation through the gospel message. This kind of enslavement is not about what we do, our daily activities, our failures and errors, but about how we think in the new economy of things. But it is about us not understanding that holding on to the past, not letting go of what was, the way things was done must be continued, maintaining the status quo, no change is an enslavement of the human spirit and restriction to our God given incredible human potential. The same way we cannot view the world when we are mature in the light of when we were teenagers, we cannot view our new life in Christ in light of when we were in sins chains. It is a heart, mind and soul transformation thing!

How can this be that that we are free in Christ, but still in chains? A seemingly yet very apparent inconsistent way to advance our individual and personal human self-development. I may be so bold to advocate that where this inconsistency originates, is that transformation between our human utility and our spiritual life purpose. No human focus his mind on what it is that he wants in life without predisposition; or if he does, he fails to proceed and so fall away into the packed lanes of human failings. He continues to see his existence in light of physical worth and self-aggrandisement rather than spiritual growth worth and accomplishment. Material possessions drive his daily utility, those who have nothing are despised, wealth is his message, and his gospel is increased worldly possessions. Listen to the message, it is not about the money, it is all about God and His Christ! Many with material wealth but poor in faith will not see God. However, many poor in possessions and material wealth but rich in faith will be in the kingdom of God. Therefore, many fail living the freedom Christ offers, not modifying our minds to new utility but essentially regressing, returning to the very comportment we had renounced.

We may then have to set aside our former understanding of wisdom and embark on one involves an all-incorporating process that whelms the entirety of the human experience. Freedom affords us the power or right to act, to speak, or to think as we desire and wants.

We have a certain degree of freedom of choice about what we want in life and where we go. We have certain right to live where we chose to life, to marry, to have a family, a certain or limitless entitlement under the human rights articles to our life! Therefore, freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. Associated with freedom are terms like liberty, liberation, release, emancipation, deliverance, delivery, discharge, non-confinement, extrication; amnesty, pardoning, ‘the captives made a frantic attempt for freedom.’ This happens because they understand the value and worth of what it means to be free!

Enslavement is the opposite of freedom and is the action of making someone a slave; it is about subjugation of your will and God given purpose in life. Many nations experience in history, the enslavement of Jews and millions of Africans are fresh in the mind. Terms associated with enslavement are subjugation, disenfranchisement, suppression, tyranny, subjection, oppression, domination, exploitation, persecution; slavery, servitude, bondage, forced labour; bonds, chains, fetters, shackles, restraints, yoke etc. The enslavement of Africans continued for most of the nineteenth century and many millions continue in the modern world.

However bad physical enslavement is, the captivity of our minds is equally paralysing. When we are unable to free ourselves from the constraints of our minds, our purpose, and our goals cannot be achieved. We can be physically free but our minds under constraints can limit our utility and block our progress. However if our minds are liberated, no physical chains can constrains us! Though not a believer in Christ, the late Reggae artists, Marley capture it well when he wrote, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.

None but ourselves can free our minds.’ When we are unwilling to let go of experiences and understanding and let God enlighten us. When we are claiming change yet see our church still in the 1950s – 1980s, we are still in bondage to the past. I got news for you, the church started long before those eras! However, no human is more desperately enslaved and remains in bondage than those who deceptively believe they are liberated. Enslavement of the human mind is the captivity of our present capabilities and potential accomplishment, thereby restricting our future hope.

This is so when we carelessly accept any unproven religion, any populist political, social or economic system, any unproven mythical doctrine, so we become like robots unable to think for ourselves. True freedom means we choose freely, we are free to express opinions and make meaningful decisions that affect our lives where we want to go. This kind of freedom comes to us through the redemptive works of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man can touch the freedom of the heart, mind and soul affords us through the liberated message of the gospel of Christ. ‘So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8: 36NIV). This freedom is all encompassing and involves the totality of our being, mind, heart and soul! Wow, what a release and relief that brings. Our enslavement to the physical human utility and experience, the former way of thinking is no more. Our freedom in Christ liberates us from our confined human way of thinking and human utility. It affords us the ability to think clearly now, to understand our incredible human potential and guarantees our future, the kingdom of Christ. ‘He sets me free one day, Christ sets me free, He burst the bars of prison for me!’

Christ affords His followers to think outside the box, think in new ways, and to be willing to accept and embrace change. One size does not fit all, neither do we all have the same likes and dislikes. When it comes to understanding the scriptures we must never be redistricted to the eras when we first believe or accept Christ, but change as new truth comes to the fore. No man have all the answers to the Scriptures, and no church have all the truth. We must accept scholasticism, people who can learn the biblical languages and see the scriptures through the lenses of history, language, culture and understand what is prescriptive and what is descriptive. Not holding on to the past, rejecting the need for trained leadership! Christ trained his followers before he sent them out in the world as apostles.

Today the misguided reject this kind of training, misquoting that the Holy Spirit trained you, rather than ‘bringing things, (what they were taught) back to their memory.’ We accept everyone in our pulpits without any form of training, people who can quote a few Scriptures, shout ‘hallelujah’ a lot, speak a few tongues, you are spiritual, you are in! Especially when they call you, Holy Ghost man! Body-ism, nepotism is ripe in our present organisations. People are not chosen for biblical defined terms of gifted-ness and ability. Its about who you know, who knows you, how long you are in the church, and its about availability for some. What do we do with out tithes and offerings? People who start a church, believe they must lead it, despite their blatant biblical unqualified and unworthy leadership status.

I put it to you my friends, the church will remain stagnated, constantly complaining about the needs, enslaved to misguided beliefs and practices until we train our leaders in leadership! The Holy Spirit cannot operate in a state of confusion, you go to some church ans every two words spoken is mixed with tongue speaking. We are not willing to change, because our minds are still in captivity to the past, it is the way I saw it, and the way it must remain. Until we embrace the freedom Christ offers and live in that freedom there will be no change. Until we liberated our minds from the slavery we impose on our worship and church activity. Until we have spiritually liberated minds, people in leadership that are chosen by the Holy Spirit and with the right gift set. Until we see leadership that are biblically trained, in the disciplines of theology, hermeneutics, at least a diploma in divinity, we lack vision and will continue to stumble in the darkness of spiritual mind enslavement. A degree in engineering even a doctorate in any secular field is not sufficient for church leadership!

For almost thirty years this has been my message. This message will not change no matter the rejection of any organisation. The church, the gospel it preach is not about man, but about God. When human put God first we will grow as a church, this can only happen when our minds are free to embrace change. When we accept Christ liberated message, we are able to see clearly where God wants us and where we need to go. We are truly liberated when we give up our human way of thinking and utility, let God control our minds and fill it with his message of liberation, what it means to be truly free.

Like this:

Don’t go chasing after people after they reject you. There is a reason and a purpose for your rejection. Some reject because they took enough, already abuse and have no further use of you. You will miss many, but understand and abandon feelings of regret for your nonappearance to people who never appreciate the value of your company. The people who belong in your life will stay and add value, they may take but they will give back. They will seek you out, they will find you, and they will stay and help you smooth out the thorny issues. We all have them, those who value you will help you overcome and smooth the rugged terrain. However the lesson you must learn that will guide you safely through the remainder of your life, is you must never start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who critique and undervalue you.

Those who undervalue will undermine, develop, build on, embellish slips and point finger at our shame. There is a saying, ‘appreciate those who appreciate you’ but the Christian way is much more powerful. We appreciate others even when they do not appreciate us! W appreciate others for who they are, not as we wished them to be! We are made in the image of God and if we hate people, we hate God! It seems easier to hate, and the difficult thing in life is to love those who hate us. We should be an example of good so that we be an attraction to those who will appreciate our uniqueness and love us for who we are. You work hard at being you; it is so easy to want to be like others. Do not abandon your God design distinctive self to be like someone else. You are not a carbon copy of anyone else; you are an original being, uniquely carved out by the hand of the master designer. We are all beautiful in His eyes, yet the world tends to place much emphasis on physical attraction. However, no physical magnificence can be as lovely as a beautiful heart.